A source setup describes colors in a layout as they exist prior to output — in other words, where the colors came from. A source setup contains profiles and rendering intents for both solid colors and pictures in RGB, CMYK, LAB, and grayscale. In addition, it includes information about the underlying color space for named colors (such as Pantone Process Coated colors) and inks (such as cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and multi-inks). You might create source setups for clients based on their standard workflows, or you might create source setups for a specific project.

To get started in creating a source setup, you will need to know some details about the hardware and software involved in a client’s workflow — what type of digital camera and scanner they use, for example — and you’ll need to make sure the relevant profiles are available. It’s also helpful to see sample projects so you know what types of pictures, colors, inks, and devices they’re working with, such as logos, charts and graphs, photographs, and duotones, output to SWOP or displayed on the Web.

To create a source setup choose Edit > Color Setups > Source.